gardening

A Postcard from July 2024

~ Making Stitches ~ 4 Comments

Hello there! I hope you’re doing ok. I had been hoping to get this post out weeks ago, but hey ho. The juggle of life, family, work, school holidays, podcasting & a craft challenge meant that craft challenge posts took priority and I’m pleased to say I’ve managed to stick to those each week so far! Gold stars all round for that I think.

As I write this, these memories from last month feel very distant, we are currently entering the 5th and penultimate week of the school summer holidays locally and it feels like it’s gone full steam and whizzed ridiculously fast. It’s hard to believe that we had a General Election last month! So much has happened since then.

I had the morning off work this morning to take some lovely friends who have been staying with us this weekend to the station and am feeling very chilled about life which is lovely. I’m back in work this afternoon so taking this sliver of opportunity to get this post written and out to you before I need to start thinking about my Postcard from August!! Here goes…

Greenhouse update

Looking at these little baby tomato plants they look rather tiny compared to the monsters I now have (you’ll have to wait until the August edition to see them now). However this was taken at the start of last month as my new-to-me green house became operational. I have 3 types of tomatoes, all cherry toms but different kinds and teeny sweet pepper plant too.

Also in my garden was this stunning white passion flower. I bought it as part of a deal at the supermarket (3 plants for £12 I think) and the photo label showed a traditional blue and cream kind of flower but this appeared and I love it, if the slugs stop eating it – I will be happy – I hope it survives!

[In slug news – after a particularly damp and rainy day last week we counted 32 in our back garden. 32!! Yuck!].

Back to the Lake District

Our first weekend of the summer holidays was spent back up in the Lake District with our lovely friends up there. We had such a brilliant time. We had a couple of walks – one which involved a kayaking expedition in the middle of it and another which had a fabulous pub Sunday Roast lunch at the end!

On one of our walks we passed these stunning nature-inspired gates. Aren’t they beautiful? They reminded me of the Lord of the Rings films – there are definitely Rivendell vibes in this part of the world.

The view below was from our walk to the pub lunch. The lake in the distance is Grasmere. The photo doesn’t really do it justice, it was so beautiful up there despite the moody skies.

And after that climb, we dropped down into Elterwater (below) where we had a gorgeous lunch. Guilt free after that strenuous climb!

My friends have a fab VW Camper which they’ve owned since forever. I wanted to make them a gift to thank them for their hospitality, so made them a squishy cushion version.

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to finish it before I arrived with them and didn’t take enough stuffing to fill it, so had to bring it back home to fill it properly (see below). It’s now back where it belongs up the Lakes.

Closer to home, we’ve had a few walks on nice days – the picture below is of a local park just about a mile from our house. I do so love that green colour you get as the sun shines through the leaves!

What I’ve been listening to

I have recently discovered that you can borrow audio books from my local library for free! How amazing is that? I’ve listened to Michelle Obama’s Becoming, Richard E Grant’s very moving A Pocketful of Happiness and am currently smashing my way through the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman. I really enjoyed Andrew Ridgeley’s Wham! George & Me which was read by him. For people of a certain age who had Wham posters on their bedroom walls – I can highly recommend it!

Podcasting news

Emma Varnam

Last month, there were two episodes of Making Stitches Podcast released. The first with the fabulous Emma Varnam. I was so lucky to be invited to visit Emma at her home and had a lovely chat about how she began designing crochet patterns, how (like me) many of the people in her closest circle have hand made gifts foisted upon them and the joys of creating. It was so lovely to meet Emma and I have our mutual friend Christine Perry aka Winwick Mum for introducing us – thank you Christine! You can find our episode here.

My second offering featured a chat I had with Jen Simonic from the Loose Ends Project which matches volunteer ‘Finishers’ with craft projects which have been left part made by crafters who have either died or are unable to complete because of health reasons. It’s a truly remarkable project and mind blowing in how quickly it has spread around the world. You can find out more about this here.

Kasey & Jen from The Loose Ends Project

In case you missed my Summer Craft Challenge 2024 so far…

And that just about brings this Postcard from July to a close. I hope you had a good month and have been able to find a bit of creativity to unwind and relax as I have for the past month. You can read all about what I’ve been up to craft-wise in the last few weeks in the four previous posts.

Summer Craft Challenge 2024 Week One

Summer Craft Challenge 2024 Week Two

Summer Craft Challenge 2024 Week Three

Summer Craft Challenge 2024 Week Four

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lindsay x

A Postcard from June 2024

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

Hello there! I hope you’re doing ok. True to form, here is a ‘Postcard from June’ coming to you two thirds of the way through July.

Back in the day, when I first started this blog under the name of Postcard from Gibraltar, I was a stay at home mum of three young men. Now I am a working mum of three young men with a podcast to make and crochet commissions to complete too, so despite my best intentions, time can run away with me. It frustrates me sometimes when I realise I have failed my own self imposed deadlines, but then I stop and think about the fact that there are only so many hours in the day and I can give myself a break every now and again.

So, without a guilty conscience on my part, here is a little look back at June in my world.

Talking of giving myself a break…

Langdale YHA first thing in the morning…

The top photo is of the calm before the crowds arrived at a very good friend’s 50th birthday party at the start of the month. They moved from our home town of Manchester a couple of years ago up to the Lake District, a dream of theirs which they decided to just do rather than thinking about it any longer.

They live in a little slice of gorgeousness and love to share it with family and friends, hence the invitation for a jolly good knees up to celebrate the significant birthday. The party spilled out into the driveway which they share with lovely neighbours (who also came to the party) and a brilliant time was had by all – even the weather behaved. It was a truly brilliant celebration.

I went along without the young men in my life in tow and spent the whole time chatting to old friends and having a good laugh. That night, as we all made our way to our various overnight lodgings, I headed over the (rather large) nearby hill to Langdale YHA, my bed for the night. The photo immediately above is the view from the youth hostel first thing the following morning. I got myself a coffee and sat out on the veranda admiring the view and the peace and quiet while I waited for breakfast.

What bliss it was, a mini 24-hour-long holiday in the sunshine with lovely friends. I caught a lift down to Windermere later that morning to catch another lift back to Manchester and my boys. While I waited for the second lift back home, I sat on the shore of Lake Windermere with my crochet… it doesn’t get better than this!

What a place to sit an crochet, while contemplating life!

Such a beautiful place to visit…..

The longest day…

This photo was taken after 11pm on 21st June, the longest day of the year. Despite being on this planet for 50 years already, it never ceases to amaze me that within the matter of a few months, we can go from living in near darkness from around 3:30pm in the depths of winter to still having light in the sky so late on in the middle of summer.

Having had lots of holidays north of the border, I am aware that the days are much longer up there, but this still impressed me!

I have a greenhouse!

One of my oldest friends is having a garden rejig which includes upgrading her mini greenhouse to a full sized greenhouse. That meant her old one needed a new home. So imagine the scene as, along with the help of my two eldest boys, we walked the greenhouse round from her house to mine (some of the journey was spent with me actually in it holding it up – arms above my head – in a Fred Flintstone feet through the bottom of the car style with one son at the front walking backwards and another son taking the weight at the back) it must have been quite a sight for the neighbours between our two homes. On a ‘normal’ day the walk is just over 5 minutes. It took a bit longer than that with a few breaks to rest our arms along the way. I had a giggle, even if the boys died a little bit inside at their crazy mother’s schemes….

Anyway, it is now happily residing up the side of our house (where the sun reaches in the morning and again, mid to late afternoon) and is home to three tomato plants and a sweet pepper plant. I shall keep you posted on any updates on their fruiting – fingers crossed!

A trip down memory lane

At the end of the month, Keele University celebrated its 75th birthday. It’s the place where I spent an incredibly happy three years, meeting life-long friends and the man I married. There was a special open day to celebrate the milestone and former students and local residents were invited along to wander round the campus. I took two of my boys down to see it for the first time. It was lovely to retrace the footsteps of my much younger self!

Keele Hall, where I spent many hours studying English Literature

My design in print

In a month of lots of lovely things, this was probably the most exciting… for the first time ever I got to see my own design in print in a magazine. I designed and made this canal boat art inspired bottle holder for Inside Crochet (my first design for them) and it even made it onto the front cover!!

It was such a thrill to see my design photographed by a professional and presented so beautifully – thank you so much Inside Crochet!!

Podcast news

Two episodes of Making Stitches Podcast made an appearance in June. The first one, in time for the D-Day commemorations featured three of the people involved in creating The Longest Yarn, an 80 metre long display featuring significant moments which led up to, during and immediately after the D-Day Landings.

The second episode featured a chat I had with Claire Reed, who specialises in helping small creative businesses with their Etsy shops, you can hear the episode here.

And that brings, this latest Postcard to an end. But, before I go….

Anyone fancy a Summer Craft Challenge?

As I mentioned at the top of this post, my time is tight right now. I remember back in the summer of 2016, as my boys’ schools in Gibraltar broke up for the long summer break, I wondered how I would survive with three young men for a 10-week-long ‘holiday’. I decided to set myself a challenge that no matter how busy or hectic or tiring a day was, I had to carve out a little bit of ‘me’ time to be creative. It didn’t matter if it was just 15 minutes of crochet late at night when everyone was in bed, or a lazy afternoon hooking some granny squares sitting on a deck chair on the beach.

Each day I took a photo of my little creative moment and wrote a blog post each week to talk about what I was making. It really worked you know, rather than spending weeks too busy to ‘make’ and getting grumpier and grumpier as time went on, I managed to carve out a little bit of creativity and it worked wonders.

Tomorrow, school comes to an end for my youngest, and this year, for the first time since being a Mum, I have a job which takes me out of the house to an office and I have a bigger juggle than ever to fit everything in. No better time then surely to make sure I have a window of creativity each day to keep me on an even keel. So, I have thrown myself the gauntlet of attempting to create that space each day and document it as I go along. Summer Craft Challenge 2024 is a matter of hours away.

Care to join me? If so, please post the photos of your summer creativity and use the hashtag #SummerCraftChallenge2024 and join the creative fun! I’d love to have your company on this summer adventure!

Until next time, look after yourself and enjoy your creativity!

Lindsay x

A Postcard from May 2024

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment
Beautiful Rhododendrons in my back garden in May

Hello there! True to form, here’s my look back at May coming to you in the middle of June! One day I may be organised enough to get one of these to you at the start of the month…

Goodbye Diamond

Diamond

Unfortunately, last month, we said goodbye to our lovely little fluff ball, Diamond. Diamond was our house bunny, he came to live with us in Gibraltar, where it was too hot for him to live outside and there was danger from the local residents too (Barbary macaques).

He was the third of our bunnies, first of all there was Bunny Postcard aka Russelina (caramel & white fluff ball), then came Snowflake (who we rescued after seeing her being abandoned in the Alameda Gardens in Gibraltar).

Russelina (left & bottom) and Snowflake (top right)

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us when we rescued Snowflake, she had a virus which infected Russelina, which ultimately led to the demise of both bunnies.

Diamond came into our lives shortly afterwards and he stayed with us until last month, he even traveled by road from Gibraltar to Manchester with a special pet courier when we moved house!

We’ll miss our fluff ball.

Amigurumay

It was the annual Amigurumay celebration over on Instagram last month run by Ilaria Caliri. It was a fun excuse to take a look back in the Making Stitches/Postcard from Gibraltar archives for suitable photos to include. It was nice to see this pair again – Rocksy & Gib, my Gibraltar apes.

A new garden project

At the start of the month I set to work on a project I’ve been wanting to do since we first moved into our home. The front garden is totally filled with pebbles and is effectively a car park. Since we arrived I had planted the privet hedge you can see, but I wanted more greenery.

Monty Don inspired me in an episode of Gardeners World when he mentioned about steel edging for lawns. I thought, that’ll do for my new flower bed. I found some online and ordered it. With a lot of help from my lovely Dad, we made a flower bed….

Then, once it was filled with peat free compost, came the fun part – filling it with plants!

Ta-dah! The photo below was actually taken one week into June (so I’m cheating here in May’s postcard) but here it is now. I’m thrilled with it, it’s got a white theme. There’s a magnolia, hydrangea, astilbe & jasmine along with white Japanese Anemones, geranium Alba & a couple of white bedding plants. I hope to add more white flowering plants in time, but for now that’s it and I’m really happy with it!

Take That!!

Well I didn’t expect to be telling you about this, but I got the chance to see Take That in concert in May too! It was a last minute thing- some of the Mums from Youngest’s football team were going, but one was ill and asked if I’d like to go in her place (this was 24 hours before the show!). I didn’t need asking twice – they were amazing.

I’d seen them once before, many moons ago when they came to the Gibraltar Music Festival and did a half hour set, but this was something else! A fantastic night of dancing and memories!

On my hook

Mini Dan

I have been working on some top secret crochet commissions lately which I can’t share sadly, but I also made this little chap. This is mini Dan. Big Dan was in my year at school and he turned 50 last month. He plays bass guitar in a fab band which does covers of songs from our youth and this is the kind of outfit he wears when he performs. (I believe Dan’s daughters loved mini Dan!).

Dan had a fab birthday party, the band played and folk got up to sing – it was a brilliant and sober night for me as I had a big run the next day – see 👇 below:

The Great Manchester 10K Run

On 26th May, it was the day of reckoning. After months of training I put my trainers on and headed into Manchester for the Great Manchester Run 10K. It was an amazing experince – so many hundreds and hundreds of runners set off in staggered stages.

This was my vantage point in the ‘pink’ stage. The atmosphere was terrific. There was a light rain to start which was fine, but as we set off, the rain stopped and the sun came out and it got really quite hot.

The heat made the run a lot harder than I expected, but I did what I set out to achieve, which was to run without stopping at all. I did it in 1 hour 11 minutes. I have no idea if that’s a good time or not but I’ll take it as a win!

I have a medal to prove I did it! Not sure I’ll run that far again but I can now say I’ve done a 10K at the age of 50!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me, together we raised £440 for the Jo Cox Foundation which I’m really chuffed with – thank you x

Making Stitches Podcast is back for a new series!

I was thrilled to be able to bring Making Stitches Podcast back for its eight series last month – I kicked off the new series with an episode delving into the podcast’s archives from the past 4 years it has been going. The topic was being creative for mental health and featured excerpts from chats I’d had with Lisa & Lynda-Rose from the Crochet Santuary, Emma Jones from the Vintage Sewing Box, textile artist Matthew Downham, former BBC Europe correspondent and now maker extraordinaire Mary Jane Baxter, Peace Campaigner and knitter, Figen Murray and Clinical Psychologist, Dr Mia Hobbs. You can listen through the player below or by searching for Making Stitches on your favourite podcast app.

For details on all my guests, you can find their links here.

And that, I think is it for this time. Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope June is being kind to you. See you next month!

Take care!

Lindsay x

A Postcard from April 2024

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Hello there, I hope May is treating you well! I was really meaning to get this post out at the start of the month, but somehow life got very busy and here we are half way through May already!

Well, better late than never, here’s a little look back at April in Making Stitches world!

A flower show

Last month, the first ever RHS Urban Show happened at the Mayfield Depot, close to Piccadilly Station in the centre of Manchester.

It was an interesting event – where we were greeted by a pair of very friendly pot plants!

One of the balcony gardens – this one was for an artist

There were many beautiful stalls from plants people, an exhibition of balcony gardening from a local group of students – there was even an indoor forest! (See below 👇).

It was a really beautiful use of a huge network of warehouses and tunnels. Inspiration was everywhere and it was nothing like anything I’ve experienced before!

There was even an art exhibition included…

… which included lovely felting…

… and punch needle work too.

And I came home with this beauty! 🪴

On my needles

I’m still knitting my Tin Can Knits top down basic sweater. It came out in a trip to the hairdressers with me last month, but hasn’t seen much action lately as I have been working on a rather large and all consuming crochet commission (which unfortunately I can’t share with you). I’m thrilled to say that went off in the post this week so I can get back to doing other things now – phew!

Podcast news

Well this was exciting – Making Stitches Podcast got a double page spread in Simply Crochet Magazine! What a thrill!! It sparked some really lovely messages from crafty friends who were surprised to spot me in their favourite magazine!

I’m pleased to say that work has begun on the next series of the podcast – I’m looking forward to being able to share that with you again soon.

Other news

I’m thrilled to say that last month, I started a new job! It’s a great role using my skills for a really important charity. I’m chuffed to bits. They’re a lovely bunch of colleagues and I’m looking forward to the future with them.

We also had a birthday in Making Stitches world, I am now the mother of a 20 year old… how did that happen?? And for Youngest, there was success for his football team as they won their league cup. 🏆

That’s all I’ve got for you this time I’m afraid other than some really pretty blossom which appeared in my back garden last month. I do love this time of year – it feels so full of promise for the summer ahead!

Until next time, take care of yourself.

Lindsay x

A postcard from June & July 2022

~ Making Stitches ~ 1 Comment

Sorry for the lack of postcard from June – it was a very hectic month with exams and school stuff in our house – very little of it photo worthy so I opted to tag a bit of June in with July’s postcard. So here goes…

Garden news

My front door pots

One of the joys of having a postcard from two months is that I can share the progress of my garden in that time. Last month I set about planting up two new pots to live either side of my front door – they looked a little sparse to begin with but blimey look how they’re doing now!

Also I love agapanthus, I have tried many times over the years, both in the UK and Gibraltar, to grow them but with rather lack lustre results. This year though, I was given some established plants by my parents who were thinning out their substantial agapanthus patch. Just look at these beauties – I didn’t expect them to flower after being disturbed and moved to my garden!

Football, football, football…

The calm before the chaos!

June was super busy for us with football. Our local club hosted two weekends of tournaments, youngest played in one of the home tournaments then another elsewhere the next week. The money raised from staging the tournaments, to which teams from across the North West of England come, means that they are able to keep the joining fee for young players affordable – some teams I have heard of charging literally hundreds for kids to join!

I was on bacon butty duty for some of it. I could still smell the bacon days later 😂.

From grass roots to top of the tree! Earlier this month I was lucky enough to take number 2 and number 3 sons to Old Trafford to watch the opening game of the Womens Euros – England against Austria.

Wow! What an atmosphere and their first game at Old Trafford. I’m so pleased I was able to do this and now they can say they were there at the start of the Lionesses Euros journey!

And then down to earth with a bump!

Nothing like sitting in a puddle on a deckchair on a very wet Sunday afternoon watching your 11 year old play! Utterly saturated!! We dried out eventually!

School play

Youngest’s school were able to put on their first school production in 3 years this year. Someone caught wind that I could sew so I was drafted in on the costume making. It was gorgeous fabric – rather like the type you would use for a wedding dress or bridesmaids dress which the school had been gifted. It was lovely to sew but not quite big enough for what they wanted… two cloaks with hoods. Sadly there wasn’t enough for the hoods and one sleeve was made of a patchwork of 5 different pieces but I got there in the end!

Foxy Loxy

We have a few neighbourhood foxes and they are so cheeky! Since we moved here 2 years ago I have encountered one or more on my evening strolls but blimey this one was cheeky. I was walking home one evening and stopped in my tracks when I caught sight of this cheeky money stretched out at my neighbour’s driveway! He / she sat there quite happily looking straight at me as I took photos and then vanished!

Crochet news

There have been a couple of crochet pattern releases since my last monthly postcard. Daisy (above) is my most recent floral inspired pattern and the pattern has yet again been illustrated by my very talented childhood friend Emma Jackson. She was inspired by the daisies popping up on my lawn!

You can find Daisy’s pattern here.

School days pattern

Next up was my ‘School days’ pattern which was prompted after I made a couple of crocheted school children for Youngest’s school summer fair along with a load of crocheted friendship bracelets.

I thought that maybe someone else might like to make a school child for their local school’s fundraising efforts or for a young person who’s about to begin their own school adventure soon.

You can find the School Days pattern here.

Podcast news

It’s been a busy couple of months for Making Stitches Podcast. There have been 5 episodes released in June & July. Clockwise from the top left of the photo above there was Joanne Scrace from The Crochet Project, Kitey aka The Yarn Whisperer, Sally Wilson from Caterpillar Cross Stitch, Emma Munn from Emma Knitty and finally Christine Perry aka Winwick Mum and Juey from Juey Jumbo Craft Tools.

You can listen back to any of the episodes by searching for Making Stitches on your favourite podcast app or via this link.

And that just about brings this latest postcard to a close. I hope June & July we’re kind to you and your August is going well too. The tension levels are rising in our house as the dreaded A-Level results day draws nearer…. Eek!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Take care,

Lindsay x

A postcard from April 2022

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments
Quarry Bank Mill at Styal

Hello there and welcome to this latest Postcard from April – if a little late! It’s a teeny look back at what I got up to in April and as spring has sprung well and truly round here, it meant spending a lot of time out in my little garden.


Where we live we are surrounded by streets and roads filled with trees. I believe the local town planner back in the 1930s believed that there should be a tree planted for every person who lived in the district, so we have him to thank for all the lush greenery around here.

One of the side effects of having so many trees about is that they drop their seeds in autumn and as I discovered last spring (our first in this house) those seeds produce dozens and dozens of tiny seedlings in our pebble driveway. This is just one handful of seedlings picked during about 10 minutes one afternoon – there are approximately 124 seedlings there. I reckon in total I’ve pulled up at least 200 – which would have left me with a jungle or even a forest between our front door and the pavement! It’s no trouble really and rather therapeutic, although they can be hard to spot against the pebbles, and are easy to miss.

Fence panel painting before & after (left panel is painted, right panel isn’t)

Also in the garden, I decided that this year, it was time to give the fence panels a treat. Thankfully the previous owner had left a partially used pot of fence paint, so I was able to set to work straight away once the mood took me. Once I ran out of the original stuff, a quick trip to the local DIY shop had me back to work. One day over Easter weekend I managed to paint 15 fence panels. I was a little tired that evening!

I also thought the shed could do with a treat, despite painting it last year, it was looking a little tired. So that got a coat of paint too along with a new trellis and a new honeysuckle which I bought from the local allotment which was having a plant sale. It’s more than doubled in size since this picture was taken!

Birthdays

There were two birthdays in the household in April. One was a big one as Eldest turned 18 – eek! I have no idea how that happened. I’m just mentally preparing myself for the fact he’s going to be leaving home (all being well) in September to go off to University. Not sure how I’ll feel when the time comes….

Another birthday I celebrated last month was the 2nd birthday of Making Stitches Podcast – but more on that later….

Psyduck (minus his tuft of hair/feathers)

I was invited to a special 21st birthday party last month too. Special in that it was 2 years late. A very good friend of mine has a lovely son who turned 21 in April of 2020, at the time a party had been planned and of course lockdown happened so he had no celebration at all. In fact his parents only managed to deliver a cake to the driveway of where he was living and sang happy birthday from the car, before driving home.

Unlike certain other people, he didn’t have a party….. that was until this year, when, two years later than planned, family and friends were able to get together for a better-late-than-never celebration. Oh, and the amigurumi I’m holding above is Psyduck (a Pokémon character – in case you didn’t know). This young man was a huge fan of Psyduck when he was younger, so I made him one – albeit with out the tuft of hair he’s supposed to have because I left it to the last minute and forgot to in the rush! But the recipient was happy and the party was a great night.

Easter holiday trip out

We are very fortunate to have a few really great National Trust properties close to where we live. One of those is Styal Mill near Manchester Airport. Our great friends and neighbours across the road were going for the day, so I took youngest along with me (the other two were otherwise engaged) for an Easter treasure trail and picnic on a lovely warm and, at times, sunny day.

We hadn’t been for a few years – it’s so easy forget what’s down the road isn’t it? But I’m so glad we had the invitation to join our friends. The kids had fun and ran off some energy whilst learning about the industrial revolution and leeches (on the tour of the apprentice house). It had particular resonance for my young man because the mill was actually used as a location for the filming of the new CBBC drama Dodger, which he had very much enjoyed watching.

The grounds were looking gorgeous and the picture of spring with tulips galore and azaleas too – the rhododendrons were just about to explode into colour too.

A trip down to London

As mentioned before, Eldest has his sights set on University for later this year, and last month was invited for a look around one of the Unis on his list. I tagged along so I could see where he might be disappearing off to. Blimey, universities have moved on a lot since I was at one! The services and support are so much more sophisticated than I can remember, which certainly put my mind at rest as a slightly anxious parent. Another positive of the day trip was plenty of time for hooky on the train!

Podcast Update

In podcast news, as well as celebrating 2 years of Making Stitches Podcast, I released a couple of new episodes. Episode 42 was ‘Crochet-tastic’ and packed full of crochet chatter featuring a conversation I had with Hannah Cross of Hanjan Crochet and another with Amanda Bloom formerly of Little Box of Crochet and now from Cosy Life Boxes about her amazing fundraising efforts for Ukraine with her ‘Blanket of Hugs’ for Ukraine appeal. You can find a link to the episode here.

Hannah Cross of Hanjan Crochet (l) & Amanda Bloom (r)

Episode 43 was bright and colourful (if you can do that with sound) and featured the lovely Clare Albans from Hello Hooray Blog about her creative journey from music teacher to hand-embroidery designer and small business owner. Last year, Clare was able to open her own bricks and mortar studio and haberdashery shop thanks to a Kick-starter campaign. You can find a link to that episode here.

Clare Albans from Hello Hooray Blog

And that’s just about it from me for this month. I have been working on a few crochet projects behind the scenes but I hope to be able to share them with you very soon, and I’m still working on up-coming episodes of Making Stitches too.

I hope you have enjoyed this little look back at April in my world and that it hasn’t been too boring for you! I hope you’ve had a good month too.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and until next time, bye for now!

Lindsay x

A postcard from March 2022

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments
Cariad & Dave

Hello, hello, hello! Only one week into April, and here’s my Postcard from March. I’m feeling rather pleased with myself that I managed to pull this one off before the end of the month!

How are you doing? I hope you are ok. It’s a worrying world we are living in at the moment, and the over-riding feelings of being utterly helpless to make a difference is something I think a lot of us are feeling at the moment. Whilst this postcard focuses on the more frivolous aspects of life for me, I hope you are ok with that. I feel I have to look at the positives whilst being all to aware of what’s going on in the world too.

Here’s what I’ve been getting up to recently then…

Crochet news

At the beginning of March, to mark St David’s Day, I launched the next of my series of Up the Garden Path amigurumi crochet patterns on my Etsy shop. Again, fabulously assisted by my childhood friend and super-talented artist, Emma Jackson, the pattern looks lovely, full of process photos and the most gorgeous illustrations of Cariad & Dave the Daffodils.

However, Dave and Cariad aren’t the only new patterns to appear in my shop. I decided I simply had to do something to raise funds for Ukraine, so sticking with the floral theme I set to work creating a sunflower doll seeing as sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine.

Meet Sophia the Sunflower, named after St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv.

The PDF pattern to make Sophia the Sunflower is available in my Etsy shop here . All the profits from the sale of this pattern are being donated to the UNHCR appeal to support refugees affected by the war in Ukraine. So far £65 has been sent to the appeal thanks to sales of Sophia. Thank you to everyone who has bought one!

In other crochet news I joined in with an appeal to make crochet squares for blankets to raise funds for Ukraine through the DEC appeal. The Blanket of Hugs Ukraine is the brain child of lovely Amanda Bloom from Little Box of Crochet. She’s asking for crocheted squares to be sent to her and then she’s joining them into blankets which are being ‘raffled off’ to raise funds. The last time I checked there had been donations of £3,500 already! Well done Amanda. You can find all the information for the appeal here if you would like to get involved too.

Also can you spot my Ukraine button badge too? Made by the lovely Mrs G Makes.

There’s been quite a lot of yellow yarn on my hooks this month… an appeal locally for crocheters to make sunflowers came my way so I made some as part of a charity virtual bike ride from where I live in Manchester to Kyiv last Saturday. Those amazing cyclists managed to ride the distance between the cities raising £8,000+ at the last count. Well done everyone!

Sunny Skipton

In other news, I had a lovely day trip to Skipton in March to celebrate my Mum’s birthday. The weather was exceptionally kind to us and we had a lovely wander around the town.

It was such a lovely treat to leave the usual jobs for the day and jump into the car to go somewhere different. It felt like a mini holiday!

And thanks to the lovely Cathy at Dear Emma Designs we had a tip off of where to avoid the crowds and enjoy a lovely lunch. Thank you Cathy!

A lunch of flat breads at Bean Loved in Skipton

Spring in the garden

Garden-wise, spring has definitely sprung, although as I’m writing this there are hail stones battering the window next to me and I had to rescue my little green house which had broken free from it’s moorings and was half way up the garden along with a pot of compost!

The prunus (above) which looked like a stick when we moved in in October 2020 has been covered in beautiful pale pink blossom for a couple of weeks now – I just hope the current weather doesn’t bash it to bits.

And this Pieris (below) was destined for the compost bin as it was a wash out last year. It may well have redeemed itself!

Glorious Manchester

One day a couple of weeks ago I was able to hop on a train into the city centre in order to record an interview for a forthcoming episode of Making Stitches. It was a stunningly sunny day.

Blossom tree outside Manchester Art Gallery

It was such a joy to be able to mooch about in the city after the interview was done. It felt like a window into another world watching the office workers sitting out on any patch of grass or bench to eat their lunches! I’m really looking forward to being able to share the interview with you soon – it was truly fascinating!

Podcast news

Olesya Lebedenko

My guest for the latest episode of Making Stitches and the first of the new 5th series was Ukrainian textile artist Olesya Lebedenko. Olesya, who is now based in Canada, makes the most beautiful quilt blocks and appliquéd pieces.

It was a joy to get to know her a little over the last few weeks. In the episode as well as talking about her craft, she spoke about her fears for her friends and family back at home in Ukraine and the online abuse she and other Ukrainian artists are facing since the war began.

You can hear her episode here.

One of Olesya’s projects featuring a tradition Ukrainian house

In print!

Issue 120 of Simply Crochet Magazine

I’m thrilled that another of my articles have appeared in Simply Crochet Magazine. This one looks at how designers can get their designs in print and featured in books and magazines. It was a fascinating piece to work on and a thrill to be able to speak to so many truly inspirational designers. Thank you Simply Crochet for giving me the opportunity to write again!

And that’s just about it for my Postcard from March. I hope you enjoyed it. I’m off now to finish getting my next podcast episode sorted in time for tomorrow – and in keeping with the last month I’ve had it’s crochet-tastic! If you haven’t already subscribed to or followed Making Stitches Podcast on your podcast app of choice, please do – it means you’ll be able to hear the latest episodes as soon as they are released.

Take care, and thank you for stopping by!

Lindsay x

A Postcard from January & February

~ Making Stitches ~ 3 Comments
Sand dunes on Crosby beach yesterday

Hello there! I hope you’re doing ok. I kept meaning to post my postcard from January throughout the beginning of February but there seemed to be so many other things which needed my attention, so I was rubbish and let things slide. We are now on the cusp of another month though, and I’ve decided that it’s time to take the bull by the horns and stop procrastinating. So here you go, two for the price of one, a postcard from January AND February rolled into one.

I deliberated about whether I should even post at all, there is so much going on in the world at the moment that things like this seem very frivolous, but I think it’s important to keep going, as burying my head in the sand and veering between trying to block the outside world out and being glued to the news updates and fretting about the helplessness I feel about the plight of so many innocent people isn’t actually helping anyone. I thought it better to try to put some sunshine and positivity out into the world, so here goes, and if you have been affected by the terrible actions taken against Ukraine, please know that you are very much in my thoughts.

A New Year and a continued fitness quest…

A view from one of my January runs

Back in November I began my quest to get my weight down to a healthy number and get a bit fitter and began the Couch to 5K programme for the third time in the last couple of years. This time though, I managed to see it through. I am now over a stone lighter and I managed to complete the whole Couch to 5K programme. Not only that, I’ve kept going and am now running just over 5K in 35 minutes. I don’t want to sound like I’m blowing my own trumpet too much or that I’m building myself up for a fall, but I’m really rather proud of how far I have come.

I haven’t found the process too arduous and in fact have quite enjoyed getting out and pounding the streets and enjoying the beauty of sunshine and nature on my way around the neighbourhood. Who knows where it might lead me?

My couch to 5k graduation!

A New Year and a new hedge

The terrible plastic ‘hedge’

You might remember last year that I said goodbye to our old ‘fake’ plastic hedge which we inherited when we moved into our home the year before. Well, the intention was always to replace it with something else, of a more natural variety. It took me a while to decide what to do for the best, but in December I realised that winter was the perfect time to plant a hedge, so I did my research and ordered my new privet hedge which arrived early in January. Then came the hard work…

Our front garden is more of a carpark than a garden, we inherited an area covered in small stones which lie on top of black weed suppressing fabric. After a lot of scraping away of stones, and the lifting of not one, but two layers of fabric which had several inches of compacted dirt between them I was ready to dig the holes ready for the baby hedge plants.

It was quite a job. Fortunately the weather was favourable – it was cold, but the ground wasn’t frozen, and it stayed dry for most of the two days it took for me to plant these 22 specimens. Plus my very helpful neighbour offered me the use of this rather nifty device (on the right of the picture below) for digging holes.

They are in, and I’m really chuffed that I managed to do this – single-handedly! How many years it will be before it’s an actual hedge is anyone’s guess but it’s a vast improvement on what we had before! My next project is a flower bed out front, but I may wait a while before beginning that.

A lovely walk and coffee by the river

River Mersey

In the middle of January, the weather was being very kind to us indeed, so a really good friend and I decided to leave the jobs which needed doing one afternoon and put our muddy hiking boots on for a wander along the River Mersey and a coffee at the Riverside Café. It was such fun, and just what we both needed to have a chat and mull over stuff which was going on before heading back home in time for the school run.

Getting the garden kickstarted

Who needs a potting shed when you have a wheelie bin lid?!

I so enjoyed having sweet peas in my back garden last summer, so decided to have a go at planting them again. I had quite a few seeds left over from last year’s attempts so I went ahead and planted them up in loo rolls again like last year. Fingers crossed this year’s crop will be as successful!

Some of last year’s sweet peas

A Sunday walk

I don’t know if it’s because of memories of lockdown and being restricted on where we can go, but I often find that it’s suddenly Sunday afternoon and apart from going to Littlest’s football match and perhaps the shops, our weekends are passing without heading out of the house as a family. I decided to change that and am trying to get us out and about if the weather & teenagers allow!

Fortunately, the lovely National Trust property; Dunham Massey is a short drive from our home and once the youths are corralled into the car, we can be in amongst the deer within half an hour. As long as there’s the promise of ice cream or hot chocolate involved in the outing, it’s generally a goer!

Another WIP begun…

Back in September last year, you may remember that I made the trip across the Pennines to the Yarndale festival in Skipton – it was a truly amazing day which you can read about here. While I was there I bought some lovely hand dyed yarn from Michelle at Woolly Wumpkins. I’ve been debating what to make with it; another pair of hand-knitted socks? A bobble hat? I settled on a shawl/scarf as that is the item of woolly clothing I wear most of all.

Unlike in my previous experience of winding a skein, this time it was a painless experience (perhaps because It hadn’t been sitting in my stash for years first) and I got to work on this pattern for a one skein crochet shawl which I bought from Annie Design on Etsy. I’m rather happy with the colours and look forward to enjoying wearing it when I eventually finish it. I have a feeling it will be something I dip in and out of while working on other things.

Llanita’s Travels continue…

Llanita in Catalan Bay in the summer of 2016

Long time readers of Postcard from Gibraltar may remember my little friend Llanita the Yarndale Sheep. I made her back in 2016 for that year’s Yarndale charity appeal. You can read all about Llanita’s adventures with me here.

Can you spot Llanita in Karen’s sewing room?

Well when Llanita arrived at Yarndale back in 2016, she was bought by Karen (aka WakeyMakes on Instagram). Karen’s sisters have recently been to Gibraltar on holiday and they took Llanita back to her homeland for a visit!

Llanita in Ocean Village

I had a lovely treat when I logged into Instagram one day to see that Llanita was back in the sun!!

Llanita on the Windsor Suspension Bridge

Stormy weather


We got off rather lightly when Storms Eunice and Franklin came to town. Just a couple of wobbly fence panels which are rather worse for wear and this one almost bit the dust. Thankfully my lovely Dad came round with his bag of tricks and some timber to patch it up until it can be replaced.

A sunny seaside walk

Crosby beach beckoned on Sunday when the sun came out and I found myself with an empty diary. The ironing and housework could wait, living back in Manchester makes you realise that you need to grab sunny days by the hand and make the most of them. I got the Little Postcards in the car and headed off west to Crosby on the Merseyside Coast.

We first visited Crosby last year after it was recommended to me by my lovely friend across the road. It’s pretty much the nearest beach to where we live and it takes under an hour to drive there. Plus the beach is home to a load of Antony Gormley statues so that makes it even more special. It’s a favourite with the Little Postcards – as is the ice cream reward at the end of the walk.

And that just about brings this postcard to an end. Thank you so much for stopping by. Where ever you are in the world and whatever you are facing, I hope that you can find some positivity in the days ahead.

Love,

Lindsay x

A postcard from November

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Hello there! It’s the last day of November already eek! I’m not ready for December!!

It’s been a busy old month – perhaps that’s why it’s gone so quickly. It’s only now I look back at what we’ve been up that I’ve realised it’s been quite a lot.

In the latest twist of the Covid story it’s also been a month of regular trips to our local testing centre every time anyone gets a cough or sniffle or we are alerted about a close contact. I think we may have been about 10 times lately – I’m thinking of asking for loyalty points!! Fortunately all tests have come back negative.

Here’s what we’ve been up to this month…

A golden tree at the end of the rainbow

Yet again this year, after over a decade away from the UK I have loved seeing the beautiful colours of autumn this month. I may no longer have little people at home who like to make pictures out of autumn treasure, but I can’t help but pick up pretty leaves when I see them!

No it’s not Christmas yet!!

Eek – am I the only one who gets freaked out by early Christmas decorations? I took Littlest out for hot chocolate on 1st November to a local café and they had a huge tree, giant baubles… the works! On the first of November!!! Maybe I’m just a Scrooge but it’s seems a bit early to me. This photo was of the Trafford Centre on the first Saturday of November…. Christmas lights galore!

Meeting real people in real life!

One evening early in the month, I had the most wonderful time ‘out out’ in Manchester. Since February/March last year I have been a virtual member of a super community for podcasters.

After months and months of zoom virtual meet ups where we hear from real ‘professional’ podcasters and swap advice and help amongst our community, I actually got to meet everyone in real life!! What a thrill. (People were so much taller than I expected after spending so long just seeing them on my phone/laptop screen 😂! )

The occasion for this meet up was to celebrate the club’s 3rd birthday and the 30th meet up in total. There were drinks and even birthday cake!

If you are a podcaster yourself or are thinking of starting your own podcast do come along to a future zoom. The group’s called MIC’s Podcast Club and although it’s based in the North West of England, there are members from much further afield (like America) and I was still living in Gibraltar when I first joined. You can find them on Twitter @MICsPodcastClub and maybe one day you can have the thrill of seeing your own podcast up in lights on the wall of a real-life meet up!

Costa del Ship Canal

Littlest’s football match got cancelled one week and instead the team coach opted to run a team building training session in our local nature reserve.

It was a perfect morning for it – definitely worth setting the alarm for an early start on a Saturday!

Just look at those blues and the golden leaves….

That water almost looked Mediterranean – well almost – it is the Manchester Ship Canal!

Plastic hedge be gone!

In this era of everything needing to look perfect and be convenient, we end up with situations like astroturf and plastic hedges. I am not a fan at all. I’m a bit more slap dash and enjoy going with the flow with nature, plus I really enjoy gardening. So when we inherited this delightful plastic hedge at our new home last year, it’s days were numbered. It did a lot better than expected as other jobs took precedence but this month, it’s time was up.

It didn’t take long, it was so rotten inside it practically fell apart – very little force was needed at all. I’m looking forward to installing a rather more environmentally friendly replacement soon!

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

A few weeks ago I received a message from a lovely friend I used to know in Gibraltar. She, like me has moved back to the UK and is now based in the South East of England. She wanted to let me know she and her partner were having a few days up North and would I like to meet them at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park? Yes! Was my answer!!

Barbara Hepworth sculptures

Before we moved to Gibraltar, we lived in Wakefield just a stone’s throw from YSP and it was a regular destination for us as a family on a weekend. It was so lovely to be able to go back there – albeit briefly while the Little Postcards were at school.

Ai Weiwei’s Chinese Horoscope Characters

The weather was so kind to us. It was very cold but it was beautifully sunny. The perfect conditions for having a wander through the beautiful park and sculptures.

Close-up of one of Ai Weiwei’s Chinese Horoscope heads
You can never have a big enough hand bag!
A Diamond ring made out of car wheels!

We didn’t spend too long together as I was clock watching to get back across the Pennines in time for school pick up, so we didn’t get to see the whole of the park but one exhibition both myself and my friend (who’s also a crafter) enjoyed immensely was one by Joana Vasconcelos who likes to create amazing things out of everyday objects… like giant stilettos out of pots and pans…

…. Lots and lots of crochet!!! Viva crochet!

Just look at that intricate work!!

Close-up of the above statue
Animal heads enrobed in intricate crochet

But the next fabric structure stopped us in our tracks… it was huge!

The photo doesn’t do it justice – it was giant and filled the huge exhibition space. It was a combination of patchwork, embroidery and very complicated crochet.

The photo above shows the end of one of those tentacles and was over a metre in diameter.

There were also pictures made of bulbous crochet structures…

Finisterra 2018
Close-up of above picture
Heartbreak 2015

How about this for a giant pouffe for your living room?

There was also a sculpture made purely of red plastic knives & forks..

Red Independent Heart #3

And then more examples of intricate crochet covering everyday household items…

A double sink
Detail of the sink piece above
A urinal called ‘Purple Rain’

And a fabulous chair…

The back of the chair above

The Joana Vasconcelos exhibition is on until 9th January 2022 both in the underground gallery and with pieces in the open air too. The artist’s work is said to be “sculptures that comment with a feminist perspective on cultural identity and tradition and celebrate the creative lives of women” – YSP Guide.

It was a lovely visit to the YSP and fabulous to be able to see my friend again – who I hadn’t seen since pre-Covid times. I can highly recommend a visit if you haven’t been, I’ll certainly be back when I can spend longer there.

Sock knitting update

Remember the pair of socks I was knitting thanks to Christine Perry aka Winwick Mum’s fabulous book?

Well they’re finished!!

Knitted using the Winwick Mum Basic Sock Pattern in West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply in ‘Brightside’ also designed by Winwick Mum

I now have toasty warm toes!

In other crafty news, I’m currently working on Eleonora from Coastal Crochet’s Winter Walk Scarf CAL.

It took a while to get started as my hand-dyed skein I’d been saving for the right moment got into rather a big tangle…

But I got there in the end…

And I’m on my way!

Making Stitches Podcast

In podcast news, there have been 2 new episodes this month – both of them yarn inspired.

Emma Leith
(photo credit: Emma Leith Atelier)

The first was with the hugely talented and inspiring crochet designer Emma Leith. You can find that here.

Sara Mulvey from Black Sheep Wools
(Photo credit: Black Sheep Wools)

The second was a real treat to record because it meant I was able to go ‘back stage’ at the fabulous Black Sheep Wools Craft Barn and speak to Sara Mulvey. What a joy it was to have a proper chat with Sara after months of watching her videos through lockdown – it was such a positive part of a rather unpleasant time. You can listen to Sara’s episode here.

And finally…

My first ever crochet patterns have been launched and are available to buy from my Etsy Shop!

There’s Flora the Gardener and Hope the Snowdrop and all being well they will be joined by some more friends very soon!

And that’s just about it for this month. I hope November has been kind to you.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lindsay x

Edit: I forgot to mention the snow! We also has some of the white stuff fall in the last few days – super exciting even if it was very cold!!

A Postcard from September

~ Making Stitches ~ 3 Comments

Hello there, it’s come to my attention of late that I’m no longer very good at maintaining momentum with my weekly Sunday Postcards. I miss posting stuff but just can’t churn posts out anymore with such frequency as I fear they will become just that – churned out and be pretty rubbish.

So, instead I’m going to have a go a publishing a monthly Postcard looking back at some of the highlights of my month just gone. If you’re up for it, here’s my Postcard from September 2021…

Last days of summer

We woke up on 1st September in beautiful Whitby but it was our last few moments of our trip and we had to pack up and be off on our way by 9am – eek! We managed it and were soon pootling along the road back to Manchester. Bye bye Whitby, thanks for having us!

You can read all about our stay on the Yorkshire coast here.

We had just a quick few days turn around before everyone returned to school for a new academic year. Everyone stayed at the same schools this time so the whole uniform thing has been far easier this summer than last year!

The return to school and the empty house gave me the freedom to get on with some things I just couldn’t do with a house full of young men….

I have been trying to find a way to financially support my podcast and hit on the idea of screen printing some bags to sell on Etsy to help pay for the hosting fees etc. I got a custom screen made by Hunt the Moon and set off on my screen printing adventure. It’s not as easy as it looks! After many attempts I managed to produce some semi-decent prints on old clothes which weren’t fit for the charity bag and started on some bags.

Here they are…. What do you think?

They are available for sale on my Etsy shop if you fancy a look. I’m hoping to add to them with some more podcast merchandise very soon plus I will be putting up some crochet patterns for sale too which I have been working on behind the scenes and I just can’t wait to share with you.

We were blessed with some truly lovely sunny days in September which meant not only could I screen print in the back garden, I could also enjoy a bit of a potter. There’s been so much wildlife in our little patch of late from foxes and squirrels, all manner of birds including a lovely Robin and this gorgeous butterfly stopped by for a visit.

Harvest time

I’ve really enjoyed having a go at growing some of our own food this year during our first summer in our new garden. I managed to harvest loads of cherry tomatoes, enough potatoes for one dinner including several potatoes about the size of a large pea (!), strawberries, loads and loads of kale for Diamond (our bunny) and one measly broad bean! I think I’ll give the beans a miss next year!

Some of Diamond’s kale – he even let us have some too!
The single broad bean!

A crocheted thank you

The schools where we live now are selective at secondary level and in order to get Littlest ready for the impending exams he’s been visiting a lovely lady called Emma. The exams are now done (what a relief) we won’t know the outcome for a while yet but we have said goodbye and thank you to Emma for all her hard work. I made her a mini Emma to have on her desk in her tutoring uniform as a little thank you. She was really pleased with it. (I made it using the Crochet Iconic Women pattern book by Carla Mitrani).

Craftivism update

You may remember the Manchester Flock of Canary Craftivists I was a part of in the summer? Well the start of September marked the time to send our canaries off to our local MPs with a handwritten letter asking for them to do all they can to support action to stop the Climate Crisis ahead of COP26 in November. Charlie the canary flew off to my MP who later wrote back to thank me.

Yarndale

A rare photo of me (left) with Yvonne from Bonnie’s Little Crafts

On 25th September I was lucky enough to be able to go to Yarndale. It was such a thrill to go back to Skipton after my last visit in 2016. the first person I bumped into once I was in the auction mart was Yvonne from Bonnie’s Little Crafts who I met on that previous visit when she ran a campaign for knitters & crocheters to make 7000 woolly hearts for Yarndale. She told me all the about the story of this blanket, which you will be able to hear by tuning into Making Stitches when it gets published.

I took my microphone with me and recorded loads of material for my latest episode of Making Stitches Podcast which will be out on Friday. I stayed literally to the end as you can see below! It was lovely to be able to enjoy all the beautiful decorations without the crowds of folk standing in the way!

After the crowds have gone home…

I also left with a bit more than I arrived with….

My Yarndale haul
Skipton

I enjoyed my day in Skipton for Yarndale so much I actually felt like I’d been away on holiday for about a week! It was just what the Dr ordered.

That’s just about all my news for September, I hope it was a good month for you. Thanks for stopping by!

Lindsay x

A rainbow to end September
A monthly picture round-up